014. Not a Prince, but a Hero
“uh···.”
Logger’s opened mouth didn’t know how to close.
“Are you going to set me free…?”
“I never said anything like that.”
“Wealth, surely you will have mercy . . .”
“It meant giving to live.”
And now you are alive.
“·················ogue.”
Not a single word was wrong.
Logger’s complexion turned pale.
“iced coffee···.”
Short knees dug into his eyes. Hot tears dripped down his cold eyes.
The Demon King already knew.
That Logger was trying to run away, pretending to be a spy in moderation.
“You must be so happy that tears come out.”
“…Yes, of course.”
“Get up. There is a long way to go.”
“···Yes.”
It was cold. The cold that penetrates through the dwarf’s fur coat, which boasts excellent cold protection, is indeed Erzest.
“How far am I going?”
“Of course it is.”
“Are you saying the tower is at the top?”
Although he was a hero, Logger has led a disconnected life recently as he made weapons for the princess.
That’s why a new demon king has come.
He didn’t even know that the Demon King had kidnapped the Crown Princess of Hilderan.
However, at least he knew that the Demon King’s Tower was built in a moderately dangerous place, where human footsteps could be reached.
But what about the summit of Mount Erzest?
Oddly enough, Logger wasn’t a great person to ask that directly.
I climbed the mountain for a long time. Logger’s short legs did not speed him up, but fortunately he had the stamina that had been nurtured by long blacksmithing.
“Mom, the monsters are avoiding them on their own.”
“Sounds natural. I am the devil Do you dare to think that monsters or the like will block my way?”
“Wait, maybe the whole mountain is of the Demon King…?”
Berge did not answer. But isn’t there a saying that something is positive?
‘really···?’
Logger swallowed his breath at the ominous feeling that ran through his mind like flames.
We climbed for a while to reach the top. The tower was hidden in a basin so that it could not be easily found.
“Look carefully. This is where you will have to work hard for me in the future.”
“… do I mean the tower? how···.”
“You will find out later.”
The door to the tower opened.
Logger closed his eyes tightly.
There were relatively weak monsters on the first floor, but they were monsters anyway. After becoming a hero, Logger was afraid because he had never personally seen a living monster in his life.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, that’s…”
I woke up to the demon king’s bruise. And faced an empty cavity.
“uh···. Is this really like this?”
“It is now. We will gradually fill in the future.”
“Ah, that’s it. He said he was a new demon king, so that’s why.”
Logger agreed. In any case, it was a little reassuring to not have to see the monster.
“Follow me.”
went up to the 2nd and 3rd floors. The empty floors were not much different from the first floor. And when I reached the 4th floor, I was surprised in a different way.
It’s because the scenery is too far from the Demon King’s Tower.
“government ordinance···?”
Spirits running around inside the tower, where mana is scarce.
“Uh, are you here?”
Logger was even more surprised because a human came out of them. No matter how you look at it, it didn’t match the Demon King’s Tower at all.
“Is this…?”
“who?”
“This is the Princess of Hilderan. This is the Dwarf we will be living with in the future. A warrior.”
“···Princess?”
“···Warrior?”
“Stay together on the fourth floor. I’ll see you all the way, so say hello.”
The Demon King went up to the 5th floor.
The princess and the hero, who were left alone, faced each other in silence.
“I don’t think you came to save me, do you?”
“…for now, it is.”
“Have you ever been kidnapped?”
“·················ogue.”
“Aren’t you the prince…?”
“·················ogue.”
“…are you a hero…?”
“.
Logger bowed his head.
He didn’t have any pride as a warrior, but strangely, he felt like he was going to die of embarrassment.
* * *
“Are you telling me to renovate the first floor?”
When being in the same room with the princess went beyond awkwardness and reached the point of suffocation, the Demon King called a logger.
And the first order given was difficult to comprehend.
“Didn’t you say you would use your talents for me? Was it a lie?”
“Oh, no.”
“So, I’m going to give you a chance. Glory to use your humble talents for this body.”
“So, the first floor can be used at will…”
“Don’t make your mouth hurt and say it twice.”
‘A ballista and a cannon in the Demon King’s Tower…?’
Instead of monsters, ballistas and cannons. It was an unimaginable sight.
‘I thought you were going to entrust the manufacture of weapons and armor…’
Demons also carry weapons and wear armor. Naturally, when I brought him to the tower, I thought it was for that purpose.
But I hope the first floor is filled with Dwarven traps.
“If you’re going to come back and say that you can’t kill the same hero, you can do it.”
“Is that true?”
“of course.”
Logger wasn’t so dull that he couldn’t feel life creeping out.
“Oh, no. In fact, I really want to.”
His own life was more important than the other warriors who had no face.
“Can you do it?”
“I am one of the best craftsmen in the Dwarven Kingdom. If you want, I will show you the essence of a Dwarf beyond just a canvas or a ballista!”
“That’s a good attitude. What else do you need?”
“It depends on how much you renovate the first floor.”
“The whole first floor. I will entrust the entire first floor to you, so make it your own.”
“All of the first floor…. If not, can I come up with a blueprint for it?”
“I’ll give you two days.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Oh, by the way.”
The Demon King shook his head. Logger sat down at the pitch-black eyes that were getting closer.
A whisper was heard between them.
“Even if you want to be a master, you can do it. However, don’t forget that the moment you forget that this is the Demon King’s Tower will be the worst moment you can think of.”
“Hib.”
The Demon King has disappeared. And the wet pants were left with the logger.
“Sigh.”
It was miserable.
* * *
“Even the Dwarves recognized it.”
Actually, I didn’t quite understand it either. But compared to the current situation, it was a hundred times, no, a thousand times better.
“But are you a warrior?”
The warrior is the enemy.
A guardian of the dimension to stop aggression.
It is an obstacle that must be dealt with in order to conquer the dimension.
Due to the uniqueness of the dimension of Arain, the demon lord and human have been closely linked recently, but the fact that they are incompatible enemies has not changed.
“Not even a demon lord brings a hero to the tower!”
“Then I will be the first.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I should have said that I was bringing a dwarf. Should I explain the plan again?”
“But that’s a warrior.”
“He’s also a dwarf. A skilled craftsman who can be counted among the best in the kingdom.”
“No, no matter what…!”
“Then will you make it?”
“·················ogue.”
Berger, who had calmed Gordon’s dissatisfaction, savored the bitter tea.
“Think about how to get the materials the Dwarves require.”
“… it’s simple. You can sell the product yourself.”
Gordon nodded bluntly.
“Details.”
“Purchasing the necessary materials in different kingdoms will be the best way to avoid the worst.”
“What do you think is the worst?”
“You are being pursued after being discovered that the Demon Lord has bought materials. And what the Demon King is trying to do is also found out.”
“How to deal with it?”
“If you spread the flow to multiple kingdoms, you won’t be able to know that they are all Demon Lords. There is a flow in human logistics, but since the Demon Lord uses subspace, tracking is impossible.”
“Not bad. But why do you look like that?”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
Problem? many.
It’s a pretty annoying face, so I want to crush it right away.
Before the return, he wasn’t like this, so what’s the problem?
“There may be problems soon.”
“·················ogue.”
Gordon smiled broadly at the Demon King’s fist. It was just as ugly as it was.
Berge tapped the table.
‘It’s a little annoying, but I guess that’s better.’
A trap made up of dwarves was always a secret.
at an unexpected moment.
Totally unexpected pitfalls.
Even if it wasn’t, it wasn’t very good for humans to find out that he was doing something and to be pursued.
“Okay, don’t do that. Let me come up with a plan on which materials and where to get them the best.”
“I don’t know what I need.”
“You call that a question? Of course, that means you should ask that warrior.”
“ah.”
“You don’t want to work?”
“···no.”
“Are you rebellious then?”
“·················ogue.”
“He said he was the head of a training school, so it’s ridiculous.”
“…that’s not it.”
“done. When the blueprint comes out, I will check it out myself, so keep an eye on the condition of Iacinth.”
“···Yes.”
Berge disappeared. Alone, Gordon slammed his fist against the wall.
* * *
Gordon, who returned to the lieutenant’s quarters, groaned and sat down on the bed.
No matter how much I thought about it, I got a fever.
Of course, it was his fault. I couldn’t even think of a simple thought because I was so preoccupied with the fact that a Dwarf was a hero.
But if we were to ask the cause in the first place, it was Berger.
“I endured building a tower on Mount Erzest.”
“I endured even hiding the tower.”
“I endured releasing the princess on the fourth floor instead of in prison, and even decorating it my own way.”
“Purchasing money with precious Magi points.”
“Using an elf or something to do a trick.”
“It was also acceptable to have the Dwarves fill the first floor.”
Even if I broke the standard and showed a non-demon-like figure, I just passed it. First of all, it’s the Demon King. Because you are the master you have to serve.
But now the hero has been kidnapped.
And he tries to entrust the entrance of the tower to the hero.
“damn.”
This was not the ideal of the demon king and lieutenant he had dreamed of.
To do this, I did not study at a demon training school for ten years.
I didn’t become a senior.
“Now no more…!”
Gordon loosened his fist. A deep sigh came out.
I had to endure it though.
The relationship between the Demon King and the lieutenant is vertical. And demons value hierarchy more than any other race.
Disobedience to orders is death. That’s a natural punishment. In addition, the laws of the Demon Realm are more strictly applied in the Tower than in the Demon Realm.
“Damn it, except for the Demon King!”
But Berge was the Demon King, and Gordon was the lieutenant.
He took out the crystal ball. When the magic was injected, it caught the signal with a soft light.
“You’re back.”
“The demon king has come. Did you come earlier than expected?”
“Are the demon lords like that?”
Gordon let out the rage he had been holding back.
“Your voice is angry.”
“I understand. It is true that he is the one we have to serve, but the demon lords sometimes piss us off too much.”
“I want to hear what’s going on.”
“I don’t listen to my story with the back of my ear. Everything is arbitrary. If that’s the case, then why are you making me your lieutenant?”
“You too? The same goes for those I serve. Sometimes you listen, but most of the time it’s up to you.”
“It’s not okay. Our demon lord listens to me well.”
“Aina, please shut up.”
“Shut up, Cocoon. There is no dignity.”
The voices that seemed to be listening to his story soon began to quarrel among themselves.
“If you listen to just one, you won’t feel so skeptical.”
“It was said that he was the highest-ranking chief of the Demon King Military Academy. Are you worthy of your name?”
『By the way, Gordon, you were also the head of the Demon Training School, maybe? It’s the first time the chief has come to Arain, so it’s unfamiliar.”
“It’s the same with our Demon King. I don’t know if I’m an adjutant or one of the demons with Chuimsae.」
“I mean that! If it wasn’t for the Demon King, really!”
“Don’t say things like that in front of the Demon Lord.”
“You look like you have a temper, but your neck will fly off right away.”
“It’s going to be Gordon. Maybe it’s worth seeing on your own?”
“Don’t say anything terrible.”
In Arain, there was a communication network for the lieutenants who served the demon lords.
And most of the cases when communication channels were opened were days when someone had a tantrum with their superiors.
* * *
The personal communications of the lieutenants were kept secret, but it was not unusual for the loyalists to rush to report to their superiors.
“It seemed so.”
Draxson giggled as he ate the raw meat.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a cheeky guy who dares to raise his head in front of me. Even if he insulted the standard at the graduation ceremony and was treated like a bastard, he was praised as a senior until then. There is no way I can be arrogant.”
Even if it’s not the chief, there’s no one who doesn’t have a stiff head for those who have become Demon Kings.
Because that’s a tribe called Demons, Demon Kings.
“How do you see it?”
“Are you talking about the Demon King? Are you talking about the lieutenant?”
“aide. After all, can’t it be that what he said is a lie?”
“It didn’t look like that.”
The cry that came through the crystal ball was real.
“I’m sure he has a bad relationship with his lieutenant, who has no demons brought with him, and who doesn’t even summon demons.”
Drakson gave an interesting smile. The meeting on the first day was so intense, I thought he had something to do with it, but it was just bluff.
‘No, there must be something.’
“What is that slave elf doing?”
It is suspicious to sell Magi for only human money and to use that money to buy slaves. He didn’t let his guard down.
Even though one of my subordinates got a harpoon, it was still in progress.
“I’m working south with the Red Hawk mercenaries.”
“Where is your destination?”
“So far…”
“Isn’t that lieutenant on fire?”
“There seemed to be a lot of dissatisfaction, but he didn’t talk about what the Demon King of Berge is doing.”
“Is he still loyal?”
It wasn’t loyalty or anything. It was because he could not tell the other lieutenants that his demon king entrusted one floor to the princess and brought in the hero.
“For now, let’s keep talking and dig deep. If there is anything special, report it immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t even look at the elf.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Who’s the warrior?”
“Healan Cargill is now out of Hilderan and through the Kingdom of Endyne. The number of heroes has increased to 40, and if you include the mercenaries and merchants who joined, the number is 141.”
“It’s faster than I thought. I can’t wait to see how much more it will blow when we get to Erzest. How much less is that opponent?”
It must have been a struggle to try to live a little longer, but that turned out to be the worst.
It was a very dangerous place, so the scoundrels did not dare to attack. Because at the realm level, I made him commission the best warrior in the kingdom.
The underlying problem is the kidnapping of the Crown Princess of Hilderan. Perhaps it also stems from his characteristic arrogance.
“Healan Cargill.”
A true hero who beheaded the demon king of lust.
“I can’t even imagine how much stronger I’ve become now since I killed Turus and absorbed his fame and power.”
“Maybe it will really be the first and last warrior that the Demon King of Berze will meet.”
“I ran like a Thunder Naked and became ugly. But it’s still a bit daunting, so let’s try to touch it a little more.”
“which···?”
“The warriors like to attack. How to get information and neutralize the opponent step by step.”
Drakson snapped his fingers.
“He used to handle flames, maybe?”
“Yes, they say they handle black flames.”
“Let’s secretly pass it on to the hero. So that we don’t find out that we’re related.”
“Yes.”
From the point of view of humans, Berger has no idea what kind of demon king he is. I don’t know what to prepare for or what strategy to devise.
In such a situation, the battle would definitely be different if you just tell them that you are dealing with flames.
With a more certain defeat of Berge.
heh heh
Drakson gave a sinister smile.